The present invention relates to equipment mounting and security devices, especially ones that are adapted to secure various appliances, such as a television, to a support surface, such as an end table in a hotel room, or to a support arm.
Businesses, schools, hotels and other enterprises utilize a variety of appliances or equipment, including typewriters, word processors, computers and television sets, which are prone to theft problems. While these appliances are relatively expensive, it is not usually practical to constantly maintain the areas where these appliances are located under surveillance. For this reason these appliances often become a target for theft.
One common method of reducing the loss of this equipment has been to bolt the equipment to the surface to which it is mounted. This has been accomplished by utilizing a mounting bracket with a locked cover which cannot be easily removed. Examples of such security devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,724,798 and 3,850,392. However, these devices are relatively complicated, and are not easily adjustable for securing a variety of differently sized or shaped appliances.
Prior art devices also include devices in which the base of an appliance is adhesively mounted directly to a support surface. However, such a mounting allows the adhesive means to be scraped from the support surface by a knife or other means. Other devices include those in which the appliance is directly secured by fasteners or other means to the support surface, for which a pattern of holes or slots on the appliance must match a similar pattern on the support surface. Thus, should the appliance be moved or disengaged from the supporting device, the appliance is left in a defaced condition.
The prior art lacks a mounting and security device for both home and commercial applications which can be readily and easily attached to appliances of varying shapes and sizes, as well as being relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install. The device would be flexible enough to be used both by homeowners interested in mounting an appliance to a support surface as well as companies interested in more secure commercial anti-theft applications.
The device for home applications would not require that the appliance be bolted directly to a support surface, but would be supported by a base and adjustably secured between side brackets, with the base being connected to side brackets by threaded fasteners and the base being directly secured to a support surface or mounting arm. Missing from the prior art is the flexibility to interchange such devices for home or for commercial applications.